This series (of 38 programs) presents Dr. Edwin Boring's famous psychology course which he teaches at Harvard. He gives the basic facts and principles necessary to uncover man's awareness, thought and behavior. Stress will be placed on the biological development of these phenomena and the role of heredity and learning in determining human abilities and human efficiency. What is psychology? According to Dr. Boring, it is a scientific story of men getting along in the changing world. Dr. Boring talks about 3 departments in the nervous system: information department, behavior, and action. Scientific psychology is always looking for causes in natural laws. Ethical problems associated with the role and place of science in psychology are discussed. Dr. Boring goes into details of perception and illusion by demonstrating an image of spirals. He also shows a model of the eye, talks about muscles in the eye and how the eye works like a camera. Optical illusions are shown, using images of head BigFar and SmallNear, SmallFar. Perception of the size is discussed: when distance is known, the brain corrects optical illusion. Books recommended in the program: Foundations of Psychology by Boring, Langfeld, et al, 1948; Introduction to Psychology by CT Morgan, 1956. Summary and select metadata for this record was submitted by The Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.
